America's secret Tuscany is being ruined for wealthy wine-quaffing retirees by boozy bachelorette takeover: 'They'll dance on the countertop and then throw up outside'

A picturesque town dubbed America's slice of Tuscany has been taken over by boozy bachelorette parties running wild in the streets.

Nestled in Northern California's Sierra Nevadas and just 150 miles from San Francisco, Murphys is home to around 2,000 people and popular among vacationers thanks to an abundance of vineyards and tasting rooms.

But many locals and regular visitors are becoming increasingly fed up with the rowdy bar scene as partygoers guzzle wine to excess rather than drinking to taste, SF Gate reported this week. 

'They'll dance on the countertop,' said Elie Frey of Allegorie Wine on Main Street. 'And then throw up outside,' she added.

Meanwhile, older crowds sit nearby merrily 'quaffing sauvignon blanc and enjoying shrimp salad in the sun, discussing their nephews and kale.' 

The growing divide has earned Murphys a new nickname from the local outlet: 'The town of two faces'. 

Murphys was ranked as one of the quaintest travel destinations in the US in a 2021 Forbes article that claimed wine tasting in the town 'will make you feel like you're in Tuscany'.

But the village, which was founded by three Irish brothers in 1844, has inadvertently become a popular place to host bachelorette parties.   

Frey, who settled in Murphys 12 years ago after living all over the Golden State, explained how the number of wine tasting rooms has exploded in recent years.

While pouring a chardonnay aged in a $24,000 oak barrel, she told an SFGate reporter: 'There were seven tasting rooms when I first moved here. There are 20 now'.

It's led many businesses to introduce new themes to help them stand out such as wine with lavender, wine and oysters and even wine with CBD - pairings that would almost certainly be sneered at in Italy. 

'I think there's a "wine and hats" place now,' Frey told the outlet. 

But despite this she told the outlet she has no plans to leave. 

Worsening matters is that, aside from bottles on display, pours are free - unlike other popular watering holes like Sonoma and Napa, not to mention Tuscany. 

Tastings are thus not exactly tasteful and often result in rowdy exits on Main Street.

It's resulted in locals steering well clear of the area, particularly on weekends, SFGate reported.  

One quiet bookstore a few doors down is among those plagued by the weekly revelry - some of which was seen in an infamous 2011 episode of Gordon Ramsay's Hotel Hell centered around another establishment on Main Street.

Brenna Landis, at Books on Main, told the outlet how this behavior is still a thing 13 years later, with wedding parties being one of the most uproarious forms of visitor.

'My co-worker and I were organizing the books in the kids’ corner, and a wedding party came in,' she recalled.

'They were drunk and stepping on the children’s books, and we were like, "You can’t do that!"'

She joked: 'We should have a sign: "No drunk bachelorette parties in the kids’ section."'

The woman went on to reveal her ties to the town once known for the gold hidden its hills and now for the wine freely flowing from its establishments.

'My great-grandmother lived here,' the lifelong resident said. 'My grandparents live here. My mom grew up here.

'It’s got a very small-town feel, like the "Gilmore Girls,"' she continued. 

'It’s like, "Oh hey, it’s Dave the mailman." You know everyone on the street.'

That's why locals, for the most part, know when to stay away, she told SFGate - citing how Main Street is mostly filled with second homes owned by those from the more liberal Bay Area. 

This is in contrast to Calaveras County, where Murphys is located, which has a decidedly right-leaning demographic, leading to more tension.

'There are times it gets a little dicey,' Landis explained. 'During Pride, we have a table out front. Some people see it and just turn around and leave.'

Despite this, she too has no plans on moving.

Some of the town’s décor seem to cater specifically to the bridal parties, including a pink Best Friends consignment store which the local outlet describes as looking like 'it's been plucked from an American Girl catalog'. 

Almost every other establishment is a wine room, and spots like Murphys Historic Hotel are renowned for its hard-drinking clientele.

One of the oldest establishments in California, it opened in 1856 and regularly hosts bachelorette parties. 

In one 2011 episode of Gordon Ramsay’s 'Hotel Hell' centered around the business, young male owners were seen giving lap-dances and ripping off their shirts to entertain the girl groups - much to the chef's dismay. 

These bachelorettes frequently clash locals and history buffs visiting the town to admire the plaques on 19th century buildings around Main Street - where shamrocks are displayed to honor the brothers who founded the settlement. 

Retirees are also in abundance - many of them well-off women complaining of the wedding parties taking over their streets, the SFGate found.

Coastal second-home transplants are also making life expensive, residents said.

Meanwhile, music from Irish pubs on Main street continues to radiate, and the wine rooms go on offering tastings at no cost.

Yet, as the SFGate reporter noted: 'Despite the town’s contradictions, everyone seems to coexist in some form of harmony - describing the little settlement as a 'town of contradictions.'

'[A]ll will be present at the upcoming Chicken in a Barrel festival in the park,' he continued, pointing to the town's great equalizer - an annual festival held every summer where locals buy barrel roast chickens made to sell.